Reporters

Our editorial community consists of editors, reporters in current newsroom teams, whether for a conference or topic project (Current Reporters), and a growing network of alumni who have gone through our programs and occasionally contribute standalone articles and/or lead their own projects (Alumni Reporters).

Current Reporters

Contributors & Alumni Reporters

Amy Jeffs is an Art History postgraduate at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. She graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2013. Before starting her MA, she worked as editorial assistant for the woodland management magazine, Living Woods. In 2013, she received grant funding from social enterprise funding body Unltd to run a festival of heritage crafts, which featured a butchery demonstration, various woodcrafts and other activities. While her main area of expertise lies in Medieval Art and History, she has an active interest in EU meat production, particularly the complex and emotive issues surrounding growing and slaughter and also the British timber industry, especially timber architecture for urban settings. Alongside her studies, Amy lectures on Medieval Art and enjoys making short video interviews of professional craftspeople at work.

After graduating from Yale University in 2008, Berry Kennedy moved to Mexico to work with the Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature, Latin America’s largest national environmental fund. She returned to graduate school to get a dual degree MBA-MS in business and environmental science from the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan. During this time, she did summer internships with the Sustainability Department at Walmart and with the consulting firm The Cambridge Group. For the past three years, Berry has served as an associate and director of Social Venture Fund, the US's only student-run impact investing venture capital fund. Berry's interests include impact investing, market-based mechanisms that promote conservation and sustainable agricultural systems.

Cristiana Bedei is an Italian digital journalist and arts writer based in London, UK. Her work has been focusing on gender issues and female artists.
She graduated from the University of Siena, Italy, in Art History, and temporarily relocated to Paris where she met with the Guggenheims to finalise her thesis about artist Pegeen Vail.
She moved to London in 2010, and after working as a press officer and artist assistant, she is currently finishing an MA in Digital Journalism at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Doyun is a student at Wellesley College studying English and Sociology, and a writer interested in international affairs and cultural issues. At Wellesley, she is co-president of Advocates for North Korean Human Rights (ANKHR), a student group committed to improving human rights conditions in North Korea. In summer 2012, she interned for Seoul Selection, an English monthly magazine based in Seoul, writing feature stories and reporting on South Korean trends for an international audience. She is a staff writer for Student Reporter and covers their both online and offline events with media experts.

Eva is doing a Masters in International Affairs at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, where she also writes and edits for the student publication. Before moving to Switzerland, she completed her undergraduate studies in Politics with Economics at the University of Bath, England. In this time, she also lived and worked in London, Cambodia and Northern China, deepening her strong interest in journalism, innovation and international societies. Eva enjoys travelling, using her languages and running.

Evelyn studied media and communication science at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) and currently organization theory and sociology at the University of Lucerne. She also works as an editor for www.ee-news.ch and freelance journalist for www.zentralplus.ch. She loves her friends, our planet, smiling, eating, nature, snowboarding and walking barefoot on the beach. Everybody can do something for a better world!

Guillaume obtained his Bachelor in Economics at the University of St. Gallen, where he currently is studying for his Master in International Affairs and Governance. Obsessed by international relation theories, Guillaume is an avid reader; he tries to decline what he sees, reads or hears in the news into the different theoretical frameworks he knows. He is editor for the international affairs section in the student-led magazine The Dufour Street Journal. Other than that, Guillaume enjoys his free times preferably in the mountains or on a football pitch.

Jonas is studying journalism and communications at Zurich University of Applied Sciences. He decided to become a journalist after walking 2.500 kilometer from his hometown to the Atlantic coast. Currently, he moderates a radio show and writes for a local newspaper. He is also interested in sports, travel, politics, people and mostly in good stories.

Kayleigh Burgess is a Masters student at Indiana University, pursuing a dual degree in Journalism and Public Affairs. Her particular interests are in food, sustainability, and globalization. This student reporter fellowship on Global Food Issues is a great fit! Prior to joining her graduate program, Kayleigh worked as an environmental educator and community organizer, focused on issues of food security and sustainable agriculture.
She currently writes at ageofplenty.wordpress.com. When not writing, she can often be found with a yoga mat, a great book, or basking in a sunny spot.

Solly is an honors student majoring in broadcasting and journalism in the University of Limpopo. He has an exciting interest in writing articles that will bring change to society. He has a passion in film and radio. His favorite quote is "Things works out best for those who make the best of how things work out."

Lotte is an Erasmus Mundus Master student in Journalism, Media and Globalisation with a focus on politics. She is currently based in Amsterdam, but previously studied in Denmark and the United Kingdom. Lotte has worked as a crossmedia editor for various organizations, including Amnesty International, Aarhus University and the pan-European website Pandeia. Besides her love for lens-based media, she has a great passion for traveling.

Mkansi Lucky is a BA Hons in Media Studies at the University of Limpopo, South Africa. He favours reporting on politics and religion. He enjoys still and motion images, informative graphics, natural sounds, layout, design visual storytelling & visual design. His favourite past time is acting.

Matt Benoit has been committed to journalism throughout his college career. In addition to writing for Washington State University's student-run newspaper for several years, he's written for several professional news publications, including The Pacific Northwest Inlander and the Tri-City Herald. Matt also traveled to Cuba as a backpack journalist, photographing and writing about the country's unique culture.

Maxwell lives, studies, eats, and breathes the greater State of Warshington while pursuing a degree in journalism and media production at the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at WSU. Maxwell prefers pine trees, Pullman, pickles, printed words and past participles.

Michelle is a science communication major at Washington State University. She chose this because she loves science, but wasn't very good at it. She was much better at writing, and liked that too. So, she decided to try to make some small contribution to closing the information gap between scientists and the public. When she's not working (or sometimes when she is) she can be found skiing, or rereading The Lord of the Rings.

Mikell Hyman is a PhD student in Sociology at the University of Michigan, studying attempts to use market strategies to address market failures. Her research draws on sociological theories and methods to examine the cultural and political arrangements that make possible the emergence of new markets. Currently, she heads up the Erb Institute's PhD group. Mikell is a recipient of National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

Along with her undergrad studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Nasma Dasser, 19 years old, is the 2011/2012 Swiss Youth Representative to the United Nations. Since an early age she has been active in many fields leading various projects; advocating science for young women, raising awareness on environmental issues and strengthening young people’s voice in decision-making. Co-founder of Le Herissé, a regional newspaper written by High School Students she extended her journalism experience while attending the New Media Summer School in Belgrade and thereafter live reporting the European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG) and contributing actively to the European Commission 1st Digital Agenda Assembly in May’11.
In July’11 she won the International Young Women in Public Affairs Award by the Zonta International Club. Nasma enjoys Opera Festivals during summer and loves learning languages; she is fluent in Arabic, French, German, English and currently studying Japanese and Korean.
Follow me on Twitter: @Nasmadass

Natalie Hase is an undergraduate student of the Industrial Management Program, at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. During her second year of studies, Natalie will focus on the specialization of energy systems. Previously she studied Energy and the Environment, as well as Environmental Economics, at the Harvard Extension School.
As an intern at the United Nations Environment Programme, within the division of Technology, Industry and Economics, Natalie was encouraged to find promising development opportunities and creating long lasting solutions, viewed both from an economic perspective, as well as a technical perspective.
She wishes to be recognized for bringing forward a multidisciplinary approach, enabling us to capture both broad and deep environmental aspects into sustainable and prosperous business development.
Natalie loves to be caught in conversations, being able to use one of the languages she commands; apart from Swedish she speaks English, Italian, French and Serbo-Croatian. Most often you will find her looking for new challenges and adventures. After living in the French Alps, there are only a few things she enjoys more than exploring the mountains.

Nicolas is studying Journalism and Communication at Zurich University of Applied Sciences. His main interest lays in international relations, economical changes and gossip. Besides his work for Student Reporter, he does a Morning Show on Radio Stadtfilter.
Nicolas is interested in traveling, culture and music. He used to work for several Swiss radio stations and regularly writes reviews for Fingerzeig.ch.

Nicolas is a second-year Master student of International Affairs at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. For his masters in Geneva Nicolas received a scholarship from the Sophie and Karl Binding Foundation as part of the program Univers Suisse. He is also a member of the Swiss Study Foundation. Prior to his studies he studied political science, economics and public law at the University of Zurich where he also gathered first experiences in journalism by working as freelancer for the student newspaper and by co-founding the Zurich Globalist, a student-led magazine on International Affairs.
He is very interested in issues of political philosophy and how technologies have an impact on society. He is currently in the process of writing his Master thesis on Internet Governance.

Nikita obtained an undergraduate degree from the University of Edinburgh in Economics and Politics in 2012. In a perhaps futile attempt to escape unpredictable Scottish weather, she made her way to Switzerland, where she now studies for a Master in Economics at the University of St. Gallen, and is the President, Co-Founder and Co-Editor in Chief of The Dufour Street Journal, a student-run publication at the University of St. Gallen focused on economics, research, and current affairs. Before beginning her postgraduate studies, she worked with the team behind the Dow Jones Sustainability Index at RobecoSAM, and has various other experiences in the financial industry under her belt. Her research interests include applied econometrics, political economy and development economics, monetary policy design - and where to find the absolute best chocolate.

Nikolaj is studying a Master in Marketing, Services and Communications at the University of St. Gallen and currently writes his master thesis. His interest in sustainable development started with oikos in St. Gallen while coordinating a project aiming to spread the sustainability topic deeper into academic teaching. In 2011 he spent an exchange semester at University Sains Malaysia (USM) and joined there the MBA Program on Sustainable Development of the Graduate School of Business (www.gsb.usm.my/index.php/mba-sd). Nikolaj did his Bachelor degree in Business Administration at the University of Bern with a minor in Media Science. Apart from studying he works in a consultant company and voluntary in as a kids animator. His core interest is the application of the sustainability concept into the business context. On a sunny spring weekend you will probably find him in the Swiss Alps hiking or climbing. As an enthusiastic traveller and food lover, he spends a lot of time discovering different cultures and trying local specialities. He speaks German, English, French, and Spanish and additionally learned some basics in Tetun (the local language of East Timor).

Olga Dorovskykh is a Ukrainian business journalist currently studying in the US. She began working as a reporter in 2006, and since then she has tried a lot of activities in the field, including working with newspapers, radio and TV, online media, photography, event management, news editing, web design, etc. Olga's primary area of interest is economy and business news, IT, marketing and management, and digital startups. Olga is currently studying Strategic Communication at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Her research is focused on examining changing business models of modern media through the lens of evolving advertising landscape.

Pascale Müller is a freelance journalist writing at the intersection of MENA politics, political Islam, women's rights and terrorism. She is currently enrolled in the Masters programme “Media, Journalism and Globalisation” and specialises in war and conflict at Swansea University in September 2014. In 2013 she received the CrossCulture scholarship of the German Institute for Foreign Affairs (ifa) and worked as a reporter for the Jordan Times in Amman. Pascale teaches journalism students in narrative journalism and gives workshops about terror organisations in the MENA. Since 2013 she is a member of the European Youth Press' MENA committee, enhancing the dialogue between young media makers from Europe and the MENA region.

During his studies of Civil Engineering in Montreal (CA), Patrick experienced exchanges in Lausanne, Switzerland and Padua, Italy, while eventually ending up in Basel, Switzerland where he is exploring the world of transportation planning and sustainable urban development. Working for a major consultant in the region, Rapp Trans, he is mostly interested by the promotion of active mobility and free car urban spaces. He has joined recently the board of directors of the Swiss Association of Pedestrians in Basel which defends the rights of walkers in our cities. Patrick learned about Student Reporter in late 2013 and he is looking forward to experiencing journalism during the campaign on the Future of Urban Mobility in Switzerland. Furthermore, Patrick is also fascinated about nutrition, sustainable agriculture and the impacts of good food on our health. Son of an Italian cooking chef and an Egyptian food lover, he discovered slow food cooking in his early ages and is actually looking constantly for the healthiest seasonal local fruits and vegetables to bring on his plate. He speaks French, English, German and Italian. In his free time, Patrick enjoys playing Ultimate Frisbee and Ice Hockey, and loves hiking, dancing, spiritual development, books and movies.

Roseta is studying BA Media Studies Hons at the University of Limpopo. She likes writing about politics, social and gender issues. She is a news anchor, journalist and current affairs presenter at University's radio station; Radio Turf. She likes travelling, listening to radio, watching television, reading newspapers and novels.

Sarah is about to finish her Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Cultural management at Zeppelin University, Lake Constance, Germany. She has looked at journalism from both a scientific and practical angle already. With her research, she contributed to studies at the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation, the Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research at the University of Zurich, the German Federal Environmental Agency, and the Center for Political Education in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Journalism-wise, Sarah has gained some experience in television journalism (at the Italian office of the German consortium of public broadcasters in Rome), radio journalism (at the online radio welle20.de), and print journalism (at the German Regional Newspaper Südkurier). She spends her free time cultivating penpalships all around the world.

I'm a US-based Finnish-American journalist with a particular interest in press freedom issues, especially in Latin America. I've worked as a public safety reporter at a newspaper, as a sports editor and as an intern for a major press freedom organization. I just received my MA in journalism from the University of Missouri.

Seda has received her education at the University of Maryland, College Park, USA and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. She is determined to use her intellect and education for the public good, especially in regards to environmental and child and youth justice. Additionally a language enthusiast, she is fluent in four languages and is learning her fifth. If she was not already working in international affairs, she'd be a historian or a biologist, two subjects which she admires greatly.

Svanlaug is an Anthropology graduate from the University of Iceland and is now studying a joint master degree in Journalism, Media and Globalisation at both Aarhus University and Swansea University, (UK). She is currently the editor for the culture section for the pan-European student webside Pandeia.eu. Svanlaug is interested in social media, online marketing, human rights and culture - She has done some work for UN women and is specifically interested in India and Greenland after living in both countries.

Teresa Delgado is pursuing a Master degree in Modern history and English & Spanish Literature at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
In 2012 Teresa won the Student Award of the biggest Swiss Sunday newspaper SonntagsZeitung and started to work as a free journalist.
As a Swiss-Spanish double citizen with Austrian roots who grew up in Berlin and Fribourg Teresa is interested in social & cultural developments on both sides of the Röstigraben -- the French-German language border that runs through her hometown.
Publications include articles for the SonntagsZeitung, Le Matin Dimanche, NZZ Campus and NZZ.

Thato is currently a Masters student at University of Limpopo. He is a passionate writer on social issues. He also dedicates time on filmmaking. Thato's hobbies includes watching movies, writing film scripts and traveling. His favorite idiom is "tloga tloga e tloga kgale"(Procrastination wastes time).

Recent graduate from the School of Journalism, University of Missouri, Columbia. Current producer for Global Journalist radio show on KBIA (NPR affiliated) with previous six years of professional background in broadcast for Russian state Channel "Channel Five".

Viktorija Mickute is a Fulbright scholar from Lithuania and a journalism graduate student at the Missouri School of Journalism. After earning her degree in political science and international relations from Vilnius University, she worked for the Lithuanian National Television as an international news editor. In the summer of 2013, she travelled in an old van across Central America and shot short documentaries in Nicaragua and Costa Rica about SOS Children's Villages. She also produces the radio show "Global Journalist" on international events and press freedom issues and is working on independent film projects.

Winnie is an honors student at the University of Limpopo majoring in broadcasting and journalism. Writing is her passion, focusing on technology reporting. She enjoys directing and editing film scripts. She is keen on reading and travelling.

Wladimir Nikoluk is currently working for the regional bureau of the United Nations Development Programme in Amman, Jordan. In collaboration with representatives of governments, NGOs and UN agencies, his job is to assist countries most affected by the Syria crisis and help them become more resilient to demographic, economic and political shocks. His previous professional experience includes placements in the public sector practice of McKinsey in Berlin and the sustainability unit of the Confederation of Indian Industry in New-Delhi. During university he was president of the Oxford Economics Society, co-organizer at TEDxOxford and project leader at the Oxford Microfinance Initiative. He holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford and is a scholar of the German National Academic Foundation and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

Having lived across the globe – India, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, the Netherlands and
Switzerland, Akash developed a keen sense of cultural awareness coupled with deep interest in geo-politic affairs. After completing his bachelors in Economics at the University of Tilburg, he continued with his masters in Economics at the University of St. Gallen. Currently a project associate at the World Resources Forum, his prior stints included beingan international ambassador for Tilburg University and an intern at ABB. Enthusiastic and hands on, his interest in saving the planet rose from watching all that Captain Planet back in the early 90s. A self-affirmed renaissance man, he's an avid fan of Christopher Hitchens and hopes to spread science, rationality and underground pop-culture. He speaks English, Hindi, Tamil, German and Malay, all to varying degrees of expertise. When not wasting time on the internet, he reads actively and hopes to answer all of life's questions through music.

Harriet is a consultant with Impact Economy, Lausanne. Prior to this position, Harriet was President of oikos International, the international student organisation for sustainable economics and management. She studied Government and Economics at the London School of Economics. Through oikos London, Harriet became interested in how to use behavioural economics for social and environmental purposes, specifically concerning transport infrastructure and lifestyle choices, and the economics of water management. Originally from Newcastle, UK, Harriet now lives in Switzerland and explores the country by road bike.

Michael McCullough is studying sustainable development, environmental management and politics at the University of Pennsylvania. He has a special interest in natural resource economics and resource management. He was the recipient of a University Scholars Grant to study nutrient cycling and microrhyzal symbiosis in the mountain forests of Chiloe Island, off Chile’s central coast. He was the recipient of the Montgomery Raiser Fellowship to conduct a field-study on Russian Orthodox Christianity’s Post-Soviet resurgence in St. Petersburg and the Russian Republic of Karelia. Recently, Michael represented Penn, the Philadelphia Global Water Initiative (PGWI) and Wharton’s Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership (IGEL) on a trip to India and Sri Lanka. Michael has worked as a member of U.S. Senator Robert Casey’s personal staff. He has also worked with small and VC-funded clean technology, alternative energy and food and agricultural companies at a Washington, DC lobbying firm. An enthusiastic writer and occasional journalist, Michael has covered the DC music scene for DC Style Magazine. Michael is an active outdoorsman and an Eagle Scout. He is also a life-long alpine skier and former collegiate ski racer. He is a Junior National medalist and former nationally ranked competitive ice dancer.

Sunnie graduated from Yale University with an Economics degree and wrote her thesis on "Assessing the Economic Value of a Positive Work Environment." She subsequently founded Inspire 925, a company that develops and implements customized employee engagement programs for medium and large-sized organizations. She was also the lead organizer for TEDxNewHaven, a conference on "The Art and Science of Happiness." Besides being an avid writer, she has worked with the HUB Zürich, a center for entrepreneurship in the field of social innovation and sustainability.

Adam Byrnes is an MBA and MS candidate at the University of Michigan’s Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise. At Michigan he is focused on the intersection of entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainability. Prior to his graduate studies, he held various roles private, public, and non-profit sector roles including: working on multiple (mostly successful) political campaigns, developing public policy at multiple government levels, managing relationships with over a hundred elected officials for a large electric utility, and developing a strategic plan for an urban ecology non-profit in San Francisco. Passionate about technology commercialization, Adam has recently worked for three early-stage start-ups, including one in Bangalore, India working to provide renewable energy to the 400 million Indians without access to electricity. In his free time Adam enjoys photography, backpacking through national parks, and getting purposely lost in a neighborhood bookstore.

Adam Wong is doing his Bachelor Degree of Business Administration, majoring in Finance and Marketing, at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His strong interests in digital marketing and international business were developed from his two internship experiences in the John Swire & Sons and the Sydney office of Hong Kong Trade Development Council, where he initiated a social media marketing campaign. Combining his skills and personal interests, he also co-founded an online fashion store - Hide n Seek, selling fashion items in Hong Kong. With accumulated knowledge in different industries, Adam also has strong interests in finance and economics. He is a contributor of Project Firefly, a student based essay collection website covering different contemporary topics such as Finance, Economics, Politics and Diplomacy. His interests of sustainable development are developed during his internship in John Swire & Sons where he touched the topics such as biofuels and sustainable agricultural development. Outside the academic and business world, he is a passionate sports lover and language learner. He is an avid member of the school basketball team and he speaks English, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese, several dialects in the southern part of China and some basic Japanese and Spanish. He also spends a lot of time on travelling, fashion and photography.

Anastasija Kolesnikova is now last year Bachelor student in Management Information Systems at the Vilnius University and working as anti – piracy data analyst at MarkMonitor. She is interested in different IT projects and technologies, social media and online marketing. For four year by now, Anastasija participated in the actions of Vilnius University Students Representation at the Faculty of Economics and now she is an Alumni member. Always tries to participate in different technology fairs, conferences, hubs, was organizing Entrepreneurship Competition Vilnius project for three years and was a part of LOGIN innovation conference for four years by now. Her desire after studies is to improve her German language and web analysis skills. Anastasija loves to communicate and meet a different person, that’s why she also loves to travel. Her free time she tries to spend with her friends, make some unplanned and unpredictable small trips with lots of laugh, smiles and unstoppable talks. Besides, she will always sing, if someone will bring a guitar to a party or to a picnic.

Andrea is a Non-Profit Management Master Student at the University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück in Germany. She speaks Spanish, German, English and Italian. While and after getting her degree in International Relations in Quito (Ecuador), Andrea got interested in sustainable development, in which she has been constantly active, in non-governmental as well as in governmental institutions (UN, Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affaris, Environmental Organizations). Her biggest mission is to achieve increasing respect for nature and for non-contacted peoples around the world. Andrea loves exploring new places and meeting new people. She is always ready for laughing, dancing or playing soccer.

Anna just finished a Bachelor in History and Politics at the University of Oxford and will start a Master in Public Policy in Sept 2013 at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. She is half German/Swiss and half Chinese and grew up in Zurich. Her particular interests are environmental policy, Chinese politics, international law and human rights. She wrote her thesis on China's climate change policies. Anna has worked for the Swiss think tank Avenir Suisse and the new Swiss Institute for Peace and Energy Research. During her time in Oxford she was the President of the European Affairs Society and organized a youth exchange program with 7 European countries. She enjoyes travelling, the great outdoors, new people, literature, karate and music.

Anna Leijonhufvud is currently working towards a Bachelors of Financial Economics at the University of St Andrews. She previously studied socio-economic development in Vietnam, conducting research on the effect of rising food prices on small-scale farmers. Her interest lies in Development Economics and Responsible Finance, while China and Southeast Asia are the parts of the world that fascinates her the most. She has studied Mandarin both in Shanghai and Taipei, although her first impression of China developed during her time at boarding school in Nairobi, Kenya. China’s role in Africa has thus naturally become her favourite discussion topic. At the University of St Andrews, Anna is the President of St Andrews oikos Chapter and Microfinance Society, which runs a social enterprise and events on how to bridge sustainability and entrepreneurship. She is also on the Executive Committee of the St Andrews Economic Forum and a co-owner of and blogger at StudyAdvantage.se, a Swedish website with the vision to inform and inspire youth to study abroad.

Anna Ritz is studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Witten/Herdecke University. Her research focuses on how institutional entrepreneurs challenge political and economic paradigms. She is further interested in strategies that combine development economics and social business strategies to empower entrepreneurs in developing countries. Besides her studies, Anna has been and still is organising various oikos projects, such as the Sustainability Innovative Speaker Series and the oikos Winter School 2011. Before her studies, Anna has worked for a microfinance institution in Tanzania. Supported by the German Ministry of Cooperation and Development, she developed a programme for the electrification of rural areas in cooperation with the Tanzanian Association for Renewable Energy. In Europe, Anna has worked with the Genisis Institute on Social Business and Impact Strategies and with the HUB Westminster, London, a co-working space for social and institutional entrepreneurs that develop concepts and strategies for a New Economy. Based on her experience, she is currently building and leading a sustainability consultancy for NGOs and Social Businesses. Anna’s passion is to attend and organise conferences as well as to connect with purpose-driven people. She loves to collect and share extra-ordinary life stories and ideas from and with local people around the globe.

Apolline Nassour is currently pursuing a MSc in Management at EMLYON Business school and a Master’s in International Affairs at the Institute of Political Sciences of Lyon. In June 2012, she won a start-up competition by selling kumquats. Then she took off to Beijing, where she spent six months working in a water pumps factory. While she was in China, she was enrolled in Le Monde Académie, a program launched by the French newspaper Le Monde for young journalists aspirants. In 2013, she made a three-month internship in the HR department of a publishing house in Paris.
Standing up for the Francophonie, Apolline Nassour is fond of French songs and Belgian cartoons.

Aranzazu is currently studying a B.A. in Journalism and Media Studies at the Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico. Her main interests are politics, economics, journalism research, and, specially, socially sustainable development. She has been working in various projects with the purpose of encouraging citizen participation through social intervention models and urbanism. Along with this, she is the current economics editor of the largest online student newspaper in Mexico, Nueva Prensa. Aranza is a book worm who loves writing, debating, dancing, wealth distribution, culture, and art in general.

Arjun Bhargava is studying Environmental Policy and Cooperation in the Master of Environmental Studies Program at the University of Pennsylvania. He was actively involved with the Graduate Advisory Board for the Program. Arjun received a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences with a minor in Business Administration in 2007. He was employed at the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Pennsylvania where he researched the role of Nectin proteins in Herpes Simplex Virus entry and cellular adhesion. He is transitioning from Biology to Environmental Studies to merge his interest in the sciences with social science. Arjun volunteers as an editor with Hindu American Seva Charities, a progressive American organization, and also at Philadelphia Global Water Initiative. He is a lead reviewer for a journal on global women and water issues.

Audry Maulana is a master student in Istanbul University, Turkey. He is majoring in Political Science and International Relations, with concentration in Regionalism especially in The Politics of European Union. He also likes to study and discussed about renewable energies, education policies, youth, and volunteerism. His background includes social entrepreneurship, government relation, and web-based social media. He holds a bachelor degree in Political Sciences with distinction from Universitas Indonesia, his home country. In his spare time, Audry enjoys city-cycling, sky scrappers, indie films, and traditional art & culture.

Azuolas is a school leaver. After school graduation Azuolas is going to study Economics in the United Kingdom or take a gap year. For the gap year he has many plans. One of them is volunteering, which Azuolas recently started enjoying. According to him, interest in Economics, Politics and Business were born when his father became a political spokesman. Since then he has no doubts about his career path and tries to improve his knowledge in these fields even before starting his studies. Behind his academic interests and school activities Azuolas is an active person. He plays basketball in his city and school teams, plays football and loves long distance running. Moreover, his favourite way of travelling is hitch-hiking, which according to him is the best way to travel.

Currently studying pharmacy in France, Benoit became, last year, a collaborator
and member as part of the Hosting team in Hub Madrid , enterprise focusing on
social entrepreneurship.
He also ran a humanitarian project called Burkina FaSoLaSiDo until this
summer and look foreward to lead other projects.
Interested in working in various sectors, he has a good knowledge in the field of
Pharmacy and which leads him to have special interest in ecology or agroalimentary sectors.
His passion for writing and fine arts led him to launch a blog mingling poems,
proses and photographs with French artists for next September.
He speaks French, Spanish, English and is currently learning Chinese.

Bettina studied international media, journalism and globalization studies. In her thesis, she specialized on social media driving processes of societal change. After having changed the country each six months for the past two years, for her current work engagement she stays in Benin / West Africa where she works in a program on good governance and decentralization. She consults a pan-African NGO in a project that aims to enhance municipal development through reinforcing civil society and citizen participation via the means of new media technologies. In her journalistic work she focuses on topics of international interest.

Bing Yu received his dual bachelor's degrees in chemistry and biology from Central China Normal University in 2009. He is a 3rd-year Ph.D. student of organic chemistry at Nankai University, China. Now he is working in the research group of Prof. Liang-Nian He at the Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry and State Key Lab of Elemento-Organic Chemistry. The aim of this “green chemistry” group is to demonstrate the versatile use of carbon dioxide in organic synthesis, with the main focus on utilization of the “green-house” gas CO2 as a building block for synthesis of industrial useful compounds and fuel additives such as cyclic carbonates, oxazolidinones, lactones, quinazolines, etc. CO2 capture by using efficient chemical absorbents and the potential use of dense CO2 (supercritical CO2) or green solvent like ionic liquids, polyethylene glycol as an alternative solvent and otherwise specific roles in organic synthesis are also evaluated. Bing's current research field is chemical activation of carbon dioxide, and using CO2 as a C1 source for the carboxylation reaction. Although Bing spends most of his time in the laboratory for experimental research, he likes to play badminton and travel after work.

Christopher Wright is a political ecologist and Sustainability advocate now working on community-based sustainability solutions in Sabah, Malaysia. Prior to his move to Malaysia, Chris worked for both local and federal government on Indigenous community development, youth engagement and Sustainability in Australia. Chris also spends a fair amount of time focussed on International climate and sustainability negotiations, and has reported on the UN climate change negotiations in South Africa, Thailand, and Qatar as well as the Rio+20 Earth Summit last year. However, when he is not busy tracking international negotiations, Chris is sometimes known to break out into a poem or a bit of a dance.

Christian is currently studying Economics and Chinese at Yale University, with a strong interest in business research, leadership education, and sustainable economic development. During his time at Yale, he has founded InspireYale (http://inspireyale.org), an organization that promotes creativity and programs on happiness at US universities. He is also a Board Member of the Yale Leadership Institute, where he supervises leadership education to undergraduate students, and the Outreach Director of China Hands (http://www.chinahandsmagazine.com), Yale's premier journal on US-China relations. Prior to university, Christian taught English in an orphanage in Pune, India, and worked in micro-finance in Chile. His professional experience also includes an internship at the IE Business School in Madrid, where he co-authored a case study on non-market strategy. Apart from his studies in economics and his research in business strategy, he is passionate about languages and speaks fluent Spanish, French, English, German, and has a good knowledge of Mandarin Chinese. In his free time, Christian enjoys running, dancing to soul and funk music, as well as reading about philosophy and development economics.

Claudio is a master student in Robotics, Systems and Control at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH). He has completed a B.Sc. in mechanical engineering at ETH. His motivation to be an engineer is to enhance sustainability and the joy of creating new products. With a team of ETH students he has developped a Skye (www.skye.ethz.ch), an innovative flying eyeball. In his opinion, change towards a more sustainable economy can be supported highly by creating new technical solutions that are not only more sustainable but offer better economic performance at the same time. Claudio is highly interested in the interaction of technological innovation, social changes and the economy. He is convinced that engineers and technological experts can and should influence the public discussion on sustainability more by bringing in their knowledge. His interests in the fields of engineering are mainly focused on the control of dynamic systems, mechanics and on the mathematical theories at the basis of engineering. At university you'll find him either listening eagerly to lectures or teaching exercise hours himself: He cares about handing on his knowledge to undergraduate students. Claudio is an active member of the Swiss Study Foundation, loves working in an international environment and travelling. He speaks German, English, French and Spanish.

At the moment studying Construction technology and management at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. Studied half year in Finland, Seinajoki University of Applied Sciences and gained international experience. While studying construction, I found out that it is my pint of interest, now I am following biggest projects of the world and Lithuania.

Declan Johnston has just finished a B.A. degree in Russian and History from Trinity College Dublin and is currently working as an editor of a culture magazine in Moscow. He previously spent time in Moscow State University while studying for his degree, in which time he became involved in reporting for Irish media. After developing an interest in media and Eastern European society more generally he returned to Moscow and hopes to study the region again in future.

Dimitrios currently distributes his time among his Management, Technology & Economics studies in ETH Zurich and academic politics within the MTEc dept. and respective student organization.
He also keeps a keen eye on the situation in Europe and his homeland, Greece, political, economic or otherwise, is carried away by the strong entrepreneurial wind blowing over Zurich and is deeply concerned with questions of -un-sustainability and not only its implications for technology and the economy, but also its deep intertwinement with matters of education, human civilization and well-being.
His free time is entirely caught up in -fantasizing about- playing blues guitar, listening to- and studying music, following European basketball and reading, mostly historical novels and crime fiction.

Dominika is a student at Warsaw School of Economics, Poland working towards her Bachelor degree in Economics (www.sgh.waw.pl). As a member of oikos Warsaw (www.warsaw.oikos-international.org) she has been involved in various projects devoted to sustainable economics and management and most recently chosen a coordinator of "Energysavers" promoting efficient use of energy.
Dominika's key interests include applied microeconomics and game theory. Nevertheless, she enjoys widening her knowledge of problems concerning macro scale such as questions on economic growth and sustainable development. While not working as a volunteer in NGO-s organizing social and cultural events, she enjoys writing, reading and listening to music. Her greatest passions include travelling, history and Medieval art.

Donatella Basdereff is a third-year social sciences bachelor student interested in all dynamics of entrepreneurship, creativity and social solutions. Studying at Sciences Po Paris, she will be based in Moscow until June 2014 as part of an academic year abroad spent at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations: MGIMO. She speaks fluently French, English and Spanish and learns Russian and Portuguese. She looks forward to reporting freelance on any events linked to her interests.

Elise is a MBA/MS candidate at University of Michigan's Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise. She has consulted with an array of businesses on sustainability projects, including community engagement, supply chain strategy and long-term goal development.

Eliza Petrova is currently pursuing a MSc in Business and Economics, with a specialization in Economics, and a Master’s in International Management (CEMS) at the Stockholm School of Economics. Having studied Mandarin at both Xiamen University and Tsinghua University in China, she continues to further her understanding of the region by working towards a Bachelor’s degree in Chinese Studies. Most recently, Eliza worked as a reporter at a news agency in Stockholm covering the global financial markets. While writing her Bachelor’s thesis, examining Nobel Prize winner Eleanor Ostrom’s principles of collective action in the preservation of common pool resources, she deepened her interest in resource economics. Eliza enjoys being part of multicultural settings and exploring new locations as diverse as the fast-paced track in Beijing and the serenity of the Norwegian fjords.

Eva Papadimas is studying law at the University of Richmond School of Law. She will graduate in May 2012 and, after studying for the bar, will begin clerking for the Honorable Brian F. Kenney of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, in Alexandria, Virginia. She spent the first summer of law school in Norfolk, Virginia, where she worked for the public defender and helped draft jury instructions for a Somali Piracy trial. She followed the trial closely and created a blog for the trial which can be found at: http://somalipiratetrial.blogspot.com/.
While in law school, Eva also interned for Virginia Commonwealth University's Technology Transfer Office, for the Honorable Kevin R. Huennekens of the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond, and with Boleman Law Firm.
Last summer, 2011, Eva received a C. Weinstein Grant for International Education from the University of Richmond to act as an intern at TaylorWessing in Dusseldorf, Germany. TaylorWessing is an international law firm with offices throughout Europe and Asia. While at TaylorWessing, Eva studied and helped with international business transactions, including, intellectual property matters, labor and employment law issues, mergers and acquisitions and corporate insolvency.
Eva graduated from the University of Virginia in 2007 where she received a Bachelors of Sciences in Biology. Thereafter she spent two years at Rockefeller University working in the Laboratory of Genetics.
Eva is fluent in Greek and proficient in Spanish. She has a basic understanding of Italian and German. She plays water polo, swims, jogs, skis, bikes, etc.

As the son of an entrepreneur and office worker, Fabian Aellig grew up in a bilingual environment, mainly French and part Swiss German. He quickly realized the importance of languages, especially for business. After three years of studying Economics and Law, as well as Psychology, he joined the Swiss Study Foundation and began to study German and English literatures and linguistics at the University of Neuchâtel. In 2011, he graduated with cum laude but continued his studies at Neuchâtel, this time for a Masters in language and communication.
The drama and choreography young Christian group GOoDlight also plays an important role in Fabian’s life. Loving everything to do with shows and music and getting more involved, he had the opportunity to combine both his IT and artistic skills to grow in the group, of which he eventually became president in 2008. Since then, they organized two Swiss tours for a total of 18 shows.
A lover of travel, Fabian's had the chance to visit several places around the world . He has also lived for two months in England, eight months in Germany, was part of a humanitarian mission in Benin and is about to depart for Beijing for a journalistic adventure. Fabian strongly believes that culture matters in bettering our understanding of each other and is eager to discover what the world has to offer.

Florence is a management consultant and runs Ilovi Management Consultancy and helps to run an engineering company. She has a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) in Finance from the University of Nairobi. She is at the Professional Level of her ACCA studies (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) as well being enrolled in East Africa’s premier business school, Strathmore Business School, in the MBA for Executives program. She endeavors, in her own small way, to revolutionize the world of business whilst fulfilling society’s duty of conservation to future generations.

Heidi Travis is concentrating in Sustainability as she finishes her Masters of Environmental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She currently works as a facilities manager in the Perelman School of Medicine. Her sustainable involvement at Penn includes work with labs to promote energy efficiency and recycling and educating user groups. She also attained a green fund grant from Penn to facilitate the University’s first energy competition in labs to encourage them to maintain equipment, consider energy savings options, and set up a school-wide freezer recycling plan. She has a Bachelors of Fine Arts with a concentration in Interior Design from the University of Georgia. Previous experience includes design and project management with extensive work on green building. Her future interests revolve around institutional and corporate sustainability as it connects to utilities usage, air and water quality, building materials, green procurement and supply choices, and engaging communities in environmental responsibility. She loves spending time outdoors running and hiking with her German shepherd.

Master's of Economics student at the University of St. Gallen, Ieva is Pro Journo's Editorial Researcher, obsessed with our future strategies and coverage projects. Having received her Bachelor's diploma from Vilnius University and spent a year at the University of Oxford further exploring academia, she is the one always interested in a wide range of issues: from media economics, to sustainable development and central banking. Before joining the team and diving deep into research, Ieva was working at a consultancy company and a central bank, where she was provided with rigorous professional training. For as long as she remembers, she was always putting aside some time for reading, writing, singing, playing the piano, dancing, and horse riding. She is rarely seen without her cherished camera glued to her eyes, lenses pointed towards something yet to become a picture.

Iliana Sepulveda pursues a Master in Environmental Studies with an Environmental Policy Concentration at the University of Pennsylvania. Before starting her Master she used to work as an advisor for the Federal Ministry of Economics In Mexico actively participating in the public policy making process of her country. Iliana holds a BA in Economics from Monterrey Tech in Mexico and a BA in Management from the ESC Clermont Ferrand in France. Currently, she is focusing her career in access to water and sanitation on developing countries. She is also a volunteer with the Philadelphia Global Water Initiative and is a member of the editorial board of the wH2O Journal at Penn.

Ilke Schaart is from Toronto, Canada. She has a background in International Development Studies and has gained experiences in the field in Honduras and in Northern Vietnam after completing her M.Sc at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. She is currently enrolled in her second Master's focusing on Environmental Sustainability Management at the University of Pennsylvania, and is the President of oikos Penn, the first oikos chapter in north-America. Through her previous studies she specialized in renewable energy mechanisms for rural development. Currently she is aspiring to introduce clean technological mechanisms through Industrial Ecology methods. Her interests lie in the delivery of solutions and mechanisms that bring about results that benefit the triple bottom line (people, planet, and profit). At the Rio +20 Conference, Ilke is most looking forward to being a part of one the largest events to happen in her generation. She will focus her reporting on green jobs, energy and green technology that are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals which will be discussed. Aside from her environmental aspirations Ilke enjoys traveling, scuba diving and most things that life have to offer.

Janni Raundahl is taking her master degree in Business and Development studies at the Copenhagen Business School (CBS). Besides the studies, she is the Chairperson of oikos Copenhagen, 360° - Students for sustainability, the biggest student organization focusing on sustainable and responsible business in Denmark.The organization was nominated for two awards at the CSR Awards 2011, the Student Prize and the Communication Prize, for the successful efforts on engaging students in the discussions around business ethics. Her interest in inclusive business and private sector development is demonstrated through research projects conducted in Uganda and Ethiopia, on the topics 'Mobile phone usage among micro entreprenurs' and 'Coffee cooperatives since the coffee crisis 2001' respectively. In her professional work she has been developing an educational project for high school students to learn more about the conditions in the international trade with primary commodities. Janni received her bachelor in 2009 with her thesis on the garment industry in India and Denmark and the value creation in partnerships between companies from the two countries. In her spare time she likes to be physically active, going rollerskating and biking, as well as travelling.

Jia is an earnest, visionary, and fearless Global Changemaker, who strives to help young people around the world to explore their potential as leaders of tomorrow. She is most passionate about the environment, impact investing and social enterprise.
Her love affair with social enterprise began when she first learned about Muhammad Yunus, the Father of Modern Microfinance. His faith and trust in helping to serve the Bottom Billion, a population that is often cruelly dismissed, serve as a daily reminder that we should strive to live our lives selflessly. All too often people use their entrepreneurial talents to make their own fortunes and advance their own agendas. She believes that it is time to start a revolution. It is time to spread the concept of social entrepreneurship in the global business community.
As a result of her track record of community service, she was selected to represent Canada at the 2010 Global Youth Summit in London, UK. She was also one of fifteen Finalists elected by fellow Global Changemakers to advance to the final round to represent the global youth community at the 2011 World Economics Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Johannes holds a Masters of Arts in Law and Diplomacy as a MacJannet Scholar from the Fletcher School / Tufts University in Boston and a Licence in International Relations from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. Johannes was born in France but grew up mainly in Germany. Upon graduation from High School, he spent a year in his mother’s native Eritrea to work on a project involving local communities’ adoption of solar technologies. During his studies of International Relations in the Netherlands, Switzerland and the USA he has progressively focused on the analysis of international economic policies in a development context and held positions among others at the German Embassy in Asmara and the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva. Johannes is currently an oikos PhD Fellow working on communication. At the University of St. Gallen, he is pursuing a PhD in Economics and Finance, researching topics of industrial policy and international trade.

John Roberts is currently the President (pro tempore) of the Open University of West Africa. He has a Diploma in Cuisine and Pastry from Le Cordon Bleu, a Bachelors in International Affairs from the American University of Paris, and a Masters in Public Policy from the National University of Singapore. He studied at Tel Aviv University for a summer during his undergraduate, and at SciencesPo for a semester during his masters. He is on leave from his Doctorate in Education at Pepperdine University in order to focus on his work with the Open University of West Africa. He has worked in Niger with the World Food Program, co-founded a non-profit organization, and a social enterprise. He is a Global Shaper at the World Economic Forum, Member of the Sandbox Network, a Fellow at the Kairos Society, as well as at Power of Youth. His research has focused on development assitance, education, Africa’s role in geo-political affiars, and technology’s role in economic growth. He has traveled extensively throughout the world, speaks fluent French, basic Spanish, and basic Mandarin. He is an avid hiker, enjoys surfing, and creating art.

Julian Marwitz is a founder of Arineos, a construction company focused on energy efficiency. This company is active with refurbishments and new constructions throughout Europe, Africa and Middle East.
Julian has studied law and economics in Geneva, Hong Kong and Germany. During his studies he founded several companies and worked in corporations like Microsoft, Volkswagen, SAP and Allianz. Some of his major achievements include winning the biggest startup competition for pupils in Germany, participating at creating a new legal convention for the UNEP and he is named as Siemens Future Influencer and Global Shaper of the World Economic Forum. Interested in various fields, he is a member of the Advisory Board of Damascus Fortune, an Indian company focused on nanotechnology with some ground-breaking inventions.
At the moment, he is also Executive Assistant to the CEO of Jones Lang LaSalle in London, one of the biggest commercial real estate firms worldwide and is pursuing a Master of Sustainable Urban Development at the University of Oxford.
He is passionate about sustainability, travelling, building technologies and the development of megacities.

Katarzyna Negacz is a PhD student in Economics at Warsaw School of Economics. She holds a degree in International Economics and is currently working towards a Masters degree in Law at Warsaw University. During her studies, she spent some time in Switzerland and Taiwan. For the past six years Katarzyna has been involved in oikos - a leading organisation for sustainable economics and management education. In 2009, she was president of oikos` student network and today is an oikos executive board member. Her interests include social entrepreneurship, sustainable competitiveness and climate risk management. Currently, she is working on a start-up aiming to integrate disabled people into labor markets.

Originally from Seattle, WA, Katherine Warren is studying Anthropology and Psychology at Harvard University. A social entrepreneur and occasional journalist, she founded two youth advocacy organizations - the Athena Program, a service-focused mentoring program for Boston young women, and the Akili Initiative, an international youth think tank for adolescent health and development. She has researched violence against women in Bangladesh and female youth suicide on Native American reservations. Katherine has also published and consulted on this research with the United Nations, tribal governments, and other organizations. An American fiddler and highpoint hiker, Katherine is interested in indigenous health and plans a career in indigenous health and health policy.

While developing with a team her first social venture, Konstantina uses the tools of web 2.0 and focuses them on a new growing segment of the market. She is part of the international coworking movement, as a the lead of Jelly Coworking Community Greece (www.jelly.gr) and as a team member at the community space Loft2Work (www.loft2work.gr), one of Greece's first social enterprises. She studied political sciences, history and public relations and enrolls in October 2012 at Warwick University as a postgraduate student at the Center of Cultural Policy. Konstantina has worked for commercial as well as non commercial projects, as strategist and project manager. During the last two years her focus are projects that create an impact on society and sustainable organization models. Her passion is traveling and writing on her blog about ideas and people that make a change. She speaks German, Greek and English and Italian on a conversational level.

Krastina is a Masters student in the Norwegian School of Economics in Bergen, Norway. She is a part of the Economics program in Energy, Natural Resources and the Environment. Her research and interests are related to the sustainable use of natural resources, environmental taxation, sustainable energy, urbanism and recycling. She holds a double degree in International Economics and Mathematics from Saint Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, NY. Her background includes international work in the financial and accounting sectors. Krastina loves traveling, museums and arts, Modernism and modern architecture. Favorite places in the world are Berlin, New York City and Bergen. Currently, Krastina is a member of the BSI Karate Club in Bergen where she is the yearly treasurer.

Laura was born 27 years ago in Guadalajara, Mexico. She is currently studying a Master of Science in Management, Technology and Economics at the ETH Zurich and serves as a board member of the World Resources Forum Association since March 2012, representing the young generation and the Latin American community. She has been working as a research assistant at the Chair Resource Economics with Prof. Dr. L. Bretschger since February 2011. During the summer of 2011, she made a three-month internship in the United Nations Environment Programme at the Economics and Trade Branch (UNEP-ETB) in Geneva, where she specially worked with the Green Economy Report.
Laura studied Telematics Engineering at the ITAM University in Mexico City and graduated with honorific mention due to her thesis “Mass collaboration applied to a coordinating platform of joint trips for the ITAM”, a platform which tried to reduce the traffic and parking problems in her University. During a 14-month stay in Germany, she studied at the Kassel University and worked at T-Systems GmbH Frankfurt in the Market Intelligence Area.
She believes that collaborative thinking and acting is fundamental to achieve sustainability, reduction of poverty and social equity, and is trying to find out how to engage people and get them to invest in sustainable and socially inclusive businesses.
When she finds time, she enjoys going on bike tours or hiking, cooking, writing in any of her blogs, reading and traveling. She speaks Spanish, English and German.

Laura Burger Chakraborty pursues a Master in Environmental Sciences at ETH Zurich. She currently works as an intern for the Swiss Government on a project to assess the state of the soil quality and the extent of human impact on the soil in the country. Laura was ETHZ delegate at the World Student Environmental Summit 2010, and worked as a volunteer for the International Caux Conferences. While she believes that environmental issues are global, she is also convinced that local action is crucial. She took part in awareness raising events in Zurich where she participated in familiarizing the 2000Watt society concept and the issue of micro-pollutants.
Laura has a passion for India, which she visited in many circumstances, e.g. as an exchange student or a volunteer in a local NGO. She has a great interest for sustainable society systems and wants to work on innovative solutions to environmental problems in emerging countries.
To complement her usual work routine, Laura likes to spend time on sport activities, reading, and when time permits, traveling.

Leah Davidson is a business student at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. She first became interested in sustainability when she studied in the Antarctic on a full scholarship with Students on Ice in 2011 and shared her experience through blogs, literary magazines, and newspapers. Since returning from Antarctica, Leah has given over 20 presentations across North America, published an environmental anthology to raise money for polar education, and launched an international youth outreach campaign called Act for Antarctica. Leah's research interests lie in social entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, and international development. She is currently working to establish a microenterprise program for rural teenage girls in Peru to develop entrepreneurial and leadership skills. In her free time, Leah loves writing short stories, reading Jodi Picoult novels, and taking pictures of beautiful landscapes.

Lenka studies her second Masters in Environmental Economics and Management at University of Economics in Prague where she is a board member in the oikos Prague Chapter. Lenka also works at the Charles University Environment Centre. She got her first Masters degree in Environmental Studies at Masaryk University in Brno. During her studies she worked in an eco-counselling centre Veronica and later took part in a fair trade campaign dealing with poor working conditions in garment industry. Lenka enjoys organizing oikos events like Spring Meeting 2011, Green Architecture and Urbanism session or Fair Trade Breakfast. On the other hand, she feels quite happy when doing gardening or disappearing somewhere in the mountains far away from the laws of civilization. She aims to be well oriented not only in the mainstream environmental economics and policy, but also in alternative economical approaches and promote fruitful discussions between these fields.

Lindsay is pursuing a concentration in Resource Management in the Masters of Environmental Studies program at the University of Pennsylvania. Interests include the connections between water, agricultural practices, and food security, particularly in rural communities in east Africa. Lindsay received her BA in Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania. While working at the Museum Applied Science Center for Archeology at the Penn Museum (MASCA), her research focused on the Maasai of southern Kenya. Lindsay worked with several families to document women’s traditions and the role of decorative beading within the Maasai culture. She also studied ancient urban infrastructure and its effect on daily life. Lindsay loves to travel, hike, and eat her way across countries.

Maciej Nowicki is a MSc student at Warsaw School of Economics and University of Warsaw, where he studies finance and law respectively. Most recently he has been taking part in CEMS MIM graduate programme at Copenhagen Business School, where his main interests focus on international management and energy issues in Europe. Struggling with Danish sunny but windy weather he has been doing research on modern management of big cities and collecting some good practices in this field he is going to use in his master's thesis. For two years he headed the political and economic section at MAGIEL, Polish largest students' monthly. He worked for Polish Ombudsman's Office and Centre for Citizenship Education in Warsaw, where he ran educational and social projects. For a year he has collaborated with Sendzimir Foundation (www.sendzimir.org.pl) where he contributed to a few reports on urban sustainability. In his spare time he loves exploring postindustrial areas, travelling by train, visiting places where modernist architecture utopias tried to come true and playing a role of amateur historian.

Majka is president of the weACT student association, which promotes sustainable lifestyle within students, by providing a community-based support for changing everyday habits (www.weact.ethz.ch). Currently she works as an intern on carbon footprints of consumer products at South Pole Carbon. Recently she graduated from ETH Zürich in Environmental Science, specializing in Human-Environment Systems. During her thesis she addressed the transition of the present society towards one based on a closed-loop economy, supported by cyclic material flows. Majka is very exited about being at the WRF 2011, because it is a unique opportunity to gain direct inputs from the top actors of global resource management. Born in the Swiss italian canton, having Swiss-German and Polish roots, she loves multicultural environments, traveling and playing volleyball.

Maria-Tzina Leria is a Graduate student of Environmental Policy in the Masters of Environmental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a researcher for the Philadelphia Global Water Initiative (PGWI) and for the European Institute for Law, Science and Diplomacy. She interned for the European Parliament in constitutional and legal affairs. Moreover, she was an intern for the Greek Parliament, carrying out a research on the necessity of the foundation of a Global Environment Organization and she has cooperated with Gallagher &Gallagher Inc. for organizing the World Green Energy Symposium 2011, which took place in Philadelphia. Maria-Tzina was awarded the Young Leader Artemis Award in October 2011 by the European American Women’s Council (EAWC), as an honor for her volunteer work on sustainability and youth issues. She was also nominated as the Executive Global President of Youth of EAWC. She received a B.A. from the University of Macedonia in Greece in 2009, with a thesis on Water Law and Water-related wars. She has received the EU “Erasmus” scholarship and two scholarships of academic excellence from the National Scholarship Foundation of Greece. She also received a scholarship from Dimitris Karlos Foundation for her research paper on the ethics of war. While at Penn, she volunteers for PGWI and she participates in a team running an innovative project on Electric Vehicles. She has an outgoing personality, interested in meeting new people and seeing new places. She volunteers for YMCA in Greece and she is currently the liaison between YMCA Greece and YMCA USA. She loves also dancing flamenco and hiking.

After a bachelor in International relations at the University of Geneva, Marion is currently studying Economics at the University of St. Gallen. Besides her studies, she has been working in the aviation industry, as well as in HR-marketing and recruitment. She has been volunteering at Sampark, an Indian NGO based in Bangalore, acting towards poverty reduction and women's empowerment. She is actively involved in oikos St. Gallen, a student association for sustainable economics and management, as national developer. She is very interested in topics linking economics and politics, as well as in economic development and sustainability. She speaks French, German, English, Spanish and a little Portuguese.

Marissa originally hails from St. Louis, Missouri and earned her B.A. Communication with minor in Biology from the University of Missouri – Columbia. She has worked for the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia for the past four years, and completed her Masters in Environmental Studies, concentrating in Advocacy and Education, in 2012. After participating in the World Water Forum in Marseille, France, with the oikos constituency from Penn, she was hired by Sustainable Brands to handle social media and online marketing in 2012. Marissa currently works in stakeholder engagement and small business development at the DOE’s Energy Efficient Buildings Hub in the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where she splits her time between PennDesign and the Wharton School of Business. Marissa additionally manages social media for the digital news media source for sustainable business, Triple Pundit. She has traveled to all 50 United States, is an avid dancer, and can complete the Rubik’s Cube. In her free time, Marissa also enjoys skiing, hiking, baking, and traveling.

Marta Belcher is a juris doctorate candidate at Stanford Law School concentrating on intellectual property and technology law. She also serves as the executive director of No Worries Now, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit that organizes proms for teens with life-threatening illnesses. Marta was honored as the “Huffington Post Greatest Person of the Day” in 2011 for her work with No Worries Now and as an activist for public umbilical cord blood banking. Marta holds a bachelor’s degree in rhetoric from the University of California, Berkeley, and has also studied at Freie Universität Berlin. Marta was honored by the president of Ireland for her paper, “Social Media and the Revolutionary Economy of Mass Collaboration,” as a highly commended international entrant of the Undergraduate Awards of Ireland. As part of her advocacy for public umbilical cord blood banking, Marta has worked in the California State Assembly and for the National Marrow Donor Program. She was previously a reporter and columnist for "The Daily Californian" as well as a copy editor and staff writer for "The Outlook Newspaper." Marta enjoys reading about quantum physics and queer theory, spending quality time with her cat and husky, and sending art through the mail. She spends most of her free time geocaching -- participating in a world-wide, high-tech treasure hunt.

Martha Powers is in the Master of Environmental Studies program at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is focusing on environmental health. She works in UPenn's Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology implementing a program that exposes students to cutting-edge environmental health science topics. In addition, she serves as the Teaching Assistant for courses about lead exposure and community-based environmental health. Her research interest is in unconventional natural gas drilling and its health effects, and she is assisting with a study examining public health concerns from hydraulic fracturing in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale. While at UPenn, she has interned at the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the Risk Analysis Branch. She also has served as a member of the Environmental Studies' Graduate Advisory Board for the past two years. Previously, she worked at the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation as the Outreach & Education Coordinator for Freshkills Park, the city's former landfill that is being transformed into a public park. She graduated with a B.A. from the Commonwealth Honors College at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 2007, completing her thesis in sustainable agriculture.

Martine Boswell is studying Environmental Policy in the Master of Environmental Studies Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests involve examining the environmental justice issues associated with natural resource extraction. Specifically, she is addressing the environmental injustices caused by mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia. Her Master’s Capstone will address the adverse impact mountaintop mining is having on Appalachian water resources, and how human populations are being affected.
She received a B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 2011. As an undergraduate, Martine participated in the University of California Washington, DC Program. Participating in this program allowed her to spend a semester in Washington, DC and intern at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (NOAA, ONMS). Martine spent the first three months of her time at NOAA working on various communications and legislative affairs projects. The last three months of her internship at NOAA were spent drafting a report on the potential impacts wave and tidal energy technologies may have on national marine sanctuary resources.
In addition to her internship at NOAA, Martine also spent a summer in Belize doing environmental field research. While in Belize, Martine’s research focused on the different impacts of tourism on Belize’s Barrier Reef.
She is also an active volunteer for the NGO Global Brigades. She has spent time in Honduras volunteering on a medical brigade, a public health brigade, and a water brigade. As a volunteer, her goal and that of the brigade was to provide sustainable solutions to improve the Honduran people’s quality of life, while still respecting the local culture.

Mathu Jeyaloganathan is currently finishing her undergraduate degree in Business Administration at the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. She first gained an interest in social enterprise and international development while working for Western Heads East, a university run organization that helps women in Tanzania start up yogurt businesses. This past summer, Mathu gained experience in banking and social finance which has motivated her to pursue a career in impact investing and venture capital focused geographically in Sub-Saharan Africa. She currently lives in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium where she spends her weekend exploring the forgotten neighborhoods of Europe's most eccentric cities. When not traveling or reading, you can usually find Mathu on a football pitch, playing a game of pickup.

Matt Caprioli studied English literature and psychology at the University of Alaska- Anchorage. He has been a regular contributor to the Anchorage Press and the online music magazine Quip. He was Managing Editor of his university's paper, and plans to freelance in some capacity for a very long time. He plans to attend Hunter College this fall for an MA in English Education. He is currently reading "Swamplandia!" by Karen Russell and "The Psychology of Sexual Relations" by Theodor Reik; he enjoys the confused glances he receives while reading the latter on the subway.

Eager to broaden his horizons, Matthieu likes facing the various reflections of our disco ball world he can reach through meeting people, travelling, innovation and arts.
With a business administration background he’s been getting from EMLYON in France and China, as well as from Fundação Getulio Vargas in Brazil, he developed a particular interest in development economics and entrepreneurship.

Mihailo is an MBA student at Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey. He is planning a career in business, preferably in consultancy, either in a multinational corporation or a local company. He has a solid academic background in Turkish Studies and political sciences. He likes to be up to date with current political and economic developments in Turkey and internationally. In the past, he worked as a journalist for a national student magazine. In his leisure time, he loves doing sports and uses every free moment to read a new book or watch a good movie.

Nancy is a third year dual degree student in the Ross School of Business and the School for Natural Resources at the University of Michigan. She is interested in social and environmental investing, and is the head of the Food Systems and Environment Circle in the University of Michigan Social Venture Fund. Prior to coming to Michigan, she worked throughout Southeast Asia doing supply chain sustainability and business development for small furniture producers. She has a BA from Williams College and enjoys traveling, skiing, rowing, and delicious food.

"Nora is currently attending High School in Davos (Switzerland) where she is going to graduate in 2015. She is participating in the 'SAMDplus' program what gives here the opportunities to do some over-curricular activities next to school. She has for example been to Singapore for a school exchange, has participated in a national as well as an international EYP (European Youth Parliament), she was able to do an internship at the GRF (Global Risk Forum) in Davos where she helped to organise the 'One Health Summit 2013' and she took part in various projects of 'Swiss Youth in Science'. Before she came to Davos she had been in New Zealandabroad for an exchange year what she says was one of her most precious experiences. She has very broad interests and likes to learn new things. Development aid and international relationships might be a possibility for her future way. Next to this, she absolutely loves being outside in the nature and doing all sorts of sports such as running, biking, hiking, climbing and of course alpine and cross-country skiing in winter."

Nora Locskai is a graduate student in International Economics and Business at Corvinus University of Budapest and also a member of the oikos Executive Board. As a person who loves to travel and exchange ideas with motivated people from different countries, she enjoys connecting the European chapters of the oikos network as part of her EB role.

Originally from Southern Sweden, Patricia is now pursuing a degree in Economics and Development Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. Before beginning her studies, she interned at the Swedish Trade Council in Shanghai where she worked with corporate social responsibility and sustainable development. Working in China fuelled Patricia's interest in development economics and egalitarian issues, and also made her dedicated to learn Mandarin. Patricia also speaks Swedish, Polish and English. In her free time she caves in to her news and social media addiction and dreams about learning how to play the piano.

Paul Mezier graduated in 2012 as a Master of Science from the London School of Economics.
Interested in the sociology of organizations and its related disciplines, he wrote his thesis on the ways start-up businesses now emerge and benefit from networked communities.
Aside of his studies, he worked to develop a crowdfunding platform in Europe, which led him to discover hidden cultural scenes all over the continent. He also builds an academic perspective on the ways technology transforms our society through a long-term research project on crowdsourcing at LSE.
He now works in Dublin for a major software company, which gives him direct insights on the future of information technologies. Previous to that, he lived in France, the UK, the USA.

Robin is from Geneva, Switzerland. He has a background in Business Administration and he is currently enrolled in his Masters in Management at the University of St-Gallen. Within this field, he is particularly fascinated by private sector actions undertaken to encourage sustainable development, like social entrepreneurship. Outside the classroom, he has twice organised the oikos Model WTO as co-head of the team. The Model WTO is a one-week simulation of ministerial negotiations, held at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, on the principle of the World Trade Organization for some 70 internationals students with the involvement of WTO experts and ambassadors at the University of St.-Gallen. He had short experiences in banking sector and is currently enjoying the chance to work for the Hub Singapore, a co-working space for social entrepreneurs with international network of some 3000 people over the world. Robin has also participated in the two week program for social entrepreneurship for economic development (SEED) in Bandung, Indonesia. Curious, sportive and exciting by discovering new cultures and divers ways of thinking, he is looking to travel in China at World Resources Forum 2012 to share thoughts and ideas for a green revolution in our global economy.

Shailee enjoys reading historical fiction, cheese-tasting, and trekking. She studied at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta where it took one class in economics to change her major from biochemistry to mathematics-economics. She is now a doctoral candidate in economics at the University of St. Gallen. Her interests include international trade, migration, and development, and blogging on these topics at her website. As a PhD fellow at oikos, she manages the Young Scholars Economics Academy and blogging activities. Prior to oikos, Shailee worked at the Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand), The Asia Foundation (USA) in their Economic Reform and Development Program, Plan International (Thailand), MicroLoan Foundation (Malawi), Winrock International (Nepal), and the Integrated Development Foundation (Bangladesh). Shailee also holds an MA in Law and Diplomacy as a Board of Overseers Scholar from The Fletcher School and an MS in Food Policy and Economics from Tufts University’s School of Nutrition and Policy, Boston.

Sharon Muli is studying Environmental Policy in the Master of Environmental Studies program at the University of Pennsylvania. She has a B.S. degree in biology from Bucknell University. Sharon’s interest in the environment grew during a semester studying abroad in Townsville, Australia, where she surveyed vertebrates at Toomba Nature Refuge and studied reef fish on Orpheus Island, experiencing firsthand two very unique and fragile ecosystems. She worked as a summer nature camp leader where she shared her passion and knowledge of nature with third and fourth grade students, and interned at North Jersey Resource Conservation and Development where she monitored the success to stream restoration sites and made recommendations to maintain wildlife diversity. At Penn, she is a member of the editorial board for the wH2O journal on women and water issues. She currently works as a Product Sustainability Co-op at Johnson & Johnson. While not occupied with academics and work, Sharon enjoys playing the French horn, reading, swimming and diving, exploring the outdoors, and traveling.

After seven years on a round-the-world trip which took her to 31 countries, Shirah has settled in Helsinki, Finland where she studies Strategy in the Master's program at Aalto University. Her last home was in Nepal's Himalaya region, where she lived near Mt. Everest in a Buddhist monastery as a volunteer English teacher. In 2012, she graduated from Belmont University with a Bachelor in International Entrepreneurship. She was the recipient of a Benjamin A. Gilman scholarship to study Russian language and entrepreneurship in Russia and Ukraine, during which time she interned in Public Relations at the U.S. Consulate in St. Petersburg, Russia, and conducted research for her thesis on the formation of entrepreneurial intentions in a transitional sociopolitical-economic context. Shirah has enjoyed working with social entrepreneurs in the U.S., Cambodia, Guatemala, Nepal, Finland, and around the world. After a short career in politics - working in the offices of an Oregon State Representative, a U.S. Congressman, the Leadership Institute, and the Departments of State and Commerce - she changed gears and launched Pointe3 Design Communications, a branding strategy and public relations company. Shirah speaks French, Russian, conversational Finnish and Spanish, and can get by in a mix of Nepali and Sherpa. She is a passionate Latin ballroom dancer, early morning riser, and lover of steep mountains and milk tea. When the tea pot's empty, you're likely to find her exploring something new to write about on her travel blog (www.shirah.mobi). Her dream is to someday write on assignment for National Geographic Magazine.

Stephanie Ormston is currently studying for a Master's in Business Administration at Boston University, concentrating in Public and Non-Profit Management and Arts Administration. Her interests in cultural entrepreneurship began at a young age with her passion for the theatre. With a Bachelor's in Fine Arts in Theatre from New York University, she spent three years living and working in rural Azerbaijan, teaching English and promoting arts awareness and cultural sensitivity to Azerbaijani youth. It was here that she began to engage with women about the challenges they face to empowerment. She continues to work with women through her involvement in the Women's MBA Association at BU. Looking forward, Stephanie would like to work with emerging arts organizations to improve their sustainability and impact by bringing for-profit models to use in the non-profit sector, as well as promote the work of women artists all across the globe. She shares her journeys on her blog, http://thebizlady.wordpress.com.

Sunserae Smith was born in San Francisco, California. She currently is a graduate student at Columbia University in the Environmental Science and Policy program under The Earth Institute. A translator of science, Sunserae is a research assistant of quantitative research methods, energy and the society of inventing the renewable century.
Prior to graduate school, Sunserae served as the Deputy Finance Director for Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker’s campaign organization, Booker Team for Newark. In 2009 Sunserae was appointed by a New Jersey judge an officer of court for Essex County’s foster children. Upon her undergraduate studies, she followed her passion for social, environmental justice and urban transformation and fought for the parole of five women in prison for second degree murder. Sunserae graduated from The College of Environmental Design at the University of California at Berkeley where she studied architecture and city and regional planning and played Division I lacrosse. In addition, she plays tennis and basketball, loves karate, photography, food, cooking, reading, designing and the great outdoors.

Tanaka is a Doctoral Candidate in the Economics and Social Sciences Area in the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, India and Executive Member of Bokulbon Society for Socio-Cultural and Educational Development Assam, India(BSSCED). In the past she has worked on Political Instability and Economic Underdevelopment in Assam. She has also worked on Conflict and Institutional change in India at the Developing Countries Research Center, Delhi.
When not researching for her PhD, Tanaka is involved with BSSCED in organizing health campus, conducting farmer awareness programmes, educating people about limited resources and responsible development, engaging people in everyday sustainable activities and creating markets for organically grown vegetables in her native Assam. A Masters in Political Science, her research interests are political economy, macroeconomics, environment, trade, development, international negotiations, political dissent and conflict studies. Tanaka loves gardening and photography.

Tatiana is a PhD student at the Energy Planning Program of the Federal University of Rio
de Janeiro. In her thesis, which stems from her 12 years experience working with the Oil and Gas industry, she is researching on the role of markets in stimulating the concrete
implementation of social and environmental sustainability. Tatiana was awarded the
FAPERJ Nota 10 scholarship and is a fellow of the Brazilian Business Council for
Sustainable Development.
She received a Bachelors in Environmental Engineering from Cornell University with a minor
in Latin American Studies, and her masters in Business Administration from the Catholic
University of Rio de Janeiro. Tatiana is a mother of two boys and is very engaged in
sustainability education at middle and high schools. She loves running, reading and
traveling.

Vinzent recently graduated from Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU) with a BSc in Socio-Economics. He has been a board member of the Austrian Federal School Students’ Union (BSV) and the Austrian National Students Union (ÖH), where he initiated a project called Forum Hochschule, a student-led think tank for higher education development. After high school, he has spent one year working in educational units of Holocaust memorials in Israel and Germany. During his undergraduate studies he focused mostly on public and social policy and wrote his thesis about income inequality in Israel. He is currently working at the Austrian parliament as assistant of the head of the parliamentary commission for cultural affairs.

Wasima Khan is a PhD candidate in Corporate Law at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Her doctoral research focuses on legal directors’ duties enabling directors to take a wide range of corporate stakeholders’ interests into account in their business strategies and decision-making procedures. Next to her research, Wasima’s passion for writing on the broad theme of management and society issues has been rewarded with essay prizes resulting from her participation in essay competitions organized by several organizations, such as the Global Peter Drucker Forum and the Netherlands Helsinki Committee. Her knowledge of languages – Dutch, English, Urdu, German, French, Spanish and Arabic, and learning more along the way – and dedication to the free dissemination of knowledge come together in her volunteer work as translator for the Khan Academy. Always curious to learn and ready for new adventures, she loves reading, creating ideas and travelling all over the world.

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Journalism gets better when more people do it. In that spirit, our writers come from all kinds of backgrounds: economics, management, finance, engineering, social entrepreneurship, environmental science, sociology, art history, just to name a few.
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